HTC announce blockchain-powered smartphone

HTC is harnessing the expertise of Phil Chen, co-founder of VIVE. HTC sees the Exodus as a handset that will let owners keep their data - and blockchain currencies - private and secure on the device rather than in the cloud, where your sensitive information may be easier to extract and tamper with.

Chen wrote in a blog post " Through Exodus, we are excited to be supporting underlying protocols such as Bitcoin, Lightning Networks, Ethereum, Dfinity, and more.

HTC hasn't released any official images of what the Exodus will look like.

Not only that, but the company also reportedly plans to create its own native blockchain network with all Exodus devices to act as nodes to facilitate crypto trading among users. Earlier this month, Facebook launched a new blockchain division as part of its management shuffle. Samsung last month was reported to be building blockchain network, but for its own global supply management.

But, all of these features can be integrated into any average smart phone with the help of software alone, and trading Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will incur mining fees to transfer anyway - whether on regular phones or blockchain phones.

HTC's yet to announce pricing for its Exodus phone, but when it does go on sale, customers will be able to purchase it using, you guessed it, cryptocurrency. Chen said that he believes that a blockchain-powered smartphone might inspire a new wave of decentralized systems, in the same way that the availability of computers once paved the way for the makings of the internet. The company has also included a few advanced security features and claims the phone is virtually "tamper proof". Sirin Labs announced a $999 Dollars blockchain phone a year ago, a device reportedly being made by Foxconn. It has a 6-inch display at 18:9 aspect ratio, 402ppi and 1500:1 contrast ratio.